Update: Mother and pilot improving after Carter County plane crash

Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes held a news conference at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday to release additional details about a plane crash on Holston Mountain near Elizabethton, Tennessee.

Sheriff Mathes said the plane was carrying a teenager, his mother, and a pilot on a trip from Charleston, South Carolina to Skypark, Incorporated in Wadsworth, Ohio on Tuesday.

The plane fueled up in Elizabethon then crashed shortly after take off about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The teenager was lying down to take a nap when the crash happened, according to Mathes.

Investigators believe the engine was running at the time of the crash, but further examination of the wreckage could help find out for sure.

Sheriff Mathes said the pilot was licensed but did not know how much experience he had.

The pilot and the teenager's mother were taken to a hospital, where Mathes said their condition is improving.

UPDATE 10:50 a.m.: Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes has announced a press conference at 12:30 p.m from the Elizabethton Municipal Airport. The press conference will be available live on News 5. We will bring you more facts as they become available.

UPDATE 5:10 a.m.: All three victims from have been rescued from the crash site and are currently at the Johnson City Medical Center.

Carter County authorities tell our crews on the scene, the victims are two adults and a teenager. They are identified as a mother, her teenage son, and an adult male family friend.

The two adults were flown to the hospital in critical condition. The teenager was able to walk to the ambulance. The teen told our Johnathan Radford on the scene he was "lucky to be alive."

The rescue operation lasted more than 8 hours in very difficult terrain. At time rescue crews had to rely on bulldozers and chain saws to reach the remote crash site.

There is still no word on what caused the Ohio bound plane to crash. We have learned the plane landed at the Elizabethton Municipal Airport to refuel around 6:30. The plane reported trouble in the air between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Emergency officials will be on the scene for several more hours.

UPDATE 1:30am: News 5 crews on the scene said the first of three victims in the plane crash has been rescued. When asked how he felt, he told us he feels good and is glad to be off the mountain.

No word on how long before the other victims will be brought down the mountain.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane belongs to Skypark, Incorporated. The aircraft registration is N46603. The plane was headed from Charleston, South Carolina back to Skypark in Wadsworth, Ohio when it went down on Tuesday around 7:30 p.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the cause of the crash.